Description: The VX-8GR dual-bander only covers 2m & 70cm and receive coverage is 108-999 MHz (less cellular frequencies). This version has a built-in GPS unit right out of the box! It is not Bluetooth capable. It is however APRS capable (B band only) with Smart Beaconing™. DCS/CTCSS encode/decode is included. Supplied with 7.4V 1100 mAh Lithium ion battery. 2.4 x 3.7 x 1.1 inches (without knobs or antenna).

Took it flying, let the pics tell the story go to aprs.fi and check Vk3zaz-7 and Vk3zaz-11 side by side in vh-ctf which you can check on flight aware for November 21st flight at 0700 utc YHML to YHML. All I can say is having a kenwood and yaesu aprs side by side in same plane is chalk and cheese. This yaesu is so bad in window sill It cannot lock into any satellites. Barely does it out in yard in clear skies. Gps module is worthless. So what's the use for this radio, sell asap..

Three hours into ownership and still cant APRS and digipeat. GPS wont lock in near window and outside walking around in yard even though it found my location it wont track and show I am walking.
I have a Kenwood and bought this for the aircraft as the Kenwood has external GPS, reserve my judgement. Glitchy, expensive and with software is getting more expensive. Menu to much information pages of stuff which you really don't need. watch this space as I am no idiot I run a Kenwood handi, a TM D701 DIGI and a 700 mobile. I have thrown out two DR135 one with factory TNC (wont digipeat) and one after market (audio tone problem) I am over these APRS radios that don't work correctly..

Independently how I set up mic options my audio signal was received weak. S-meter has shown 9 on receivers, but audio was weak. Service has improved it a bit, but exactly a bit. External mic has improved the audio level, but still it was far from very good one.

After one year of operation GPS has died. I've waited 6 months for repair in authorised serveice. Repair of multi-wire tape connected to GPS has not help, so GPS antenna has been replaced. Having the radio back I test it. GPS starts randomly. If it start it does not get the position from the satelites (left for hours in open air; no trees, no skyscrapers around).

That is my experience.

I'm active aprs user, so I would admire small size of this trx (if it works). Menu is quite clear, there is no need to use a computer to reach any set-up you want.

I have owned this HT for about 2 year and it is my SOTA and travel HT. I have not used it for satellite work. I find that it is easy to program (I ended up buying a 3rd party programmer since I took it with me on travels so much), and seems sensitive relative to the other HT's I've owned. The stock antenna works well. I've had trouble with the GPS locking in satellites if I don't just set it down on something outside and leave it for a few minutes. Once I've done this it doesn't seem to loose track even inside my Isuzu mobile faraday cage. But if I don't do this it seems to have a horrible time locking in even when the only thing between it and the satellites is a cloud. I did a whole hike once and discovered it had not captured a satellite the entire time because (presumably) I didn't give it some sitting still time to callibrate. This may be just a problem with my individual HT, but it is a minor one as long as I remember to give it its warm up time. Overall I am very pleased with it.

Imagine holding a deck of playing cards in your hand. That is what it feels like to hold this HT - just a perfect size. There is a learning curve involved but it's not difficult. I like the single tilted tuning knob. The GPS latches on quickly, the volume is adequate & with an after market antenna (Diamond SRH 519), hitting my local repeaters is a snap. I alternate between the stock 1100 mAh batt. & the optional 1800 mAh batt. Both deliver hours of service. As was mentioned earlier, when not using the radio for a long period, the battery will run down because the set monitors the ON/OFF button. This is common to all HT's with a push button ON/OFF switch.

I've had my radio for a couple years now. It works great with one exception. The connection between the radio and battery pack briefly fails quite often causing the radio to "reboot". Two other people I know have this same radio and suffer the same issue. Squeeze it the wrong way and it quits. Clip it to your belt or pocket and it constantly reboots as you walk. Pick it up from a table to answer a call and it reboots. The problem seems to be worst when the weather turns cold and dry.

I bought this radio mainly to take with me hiking solo in Southern CA. Like that it has GPS built in vs a module with bracket on 8DR. Easy to program and also use it in car with antenna. With so many repeaters in SoCal it is a breeze! GPS/APRS work great and always have it with me when in the woods.

I lucked out and got a used one for about $250, in new condition, with six batteries, speaker mike, and a desktop charger from N0IWT. The only thing I bought additionally was the ADMS VX8G software and cable for $38.95 from HRO.

The unit was easy to setup, easy to operate. I wanted it for use with a new motorcycle, and the Yaesu appears to be much more weather resistant than my Kenwood TH-D72A. Don't get me wrong, around home I carry the D72, not the VX8. The D72 has more features, and a better display, but the VX8 is about 1/2 the size and appears to be more durable.

I have had my Yaesu VX-8GR for only two weeks now, but in that time I have been AMAZED at all the features packed into this small dual band HT. Is there a learning curve? Yes, but what radio today doesn't have a learning curve. Being only 2m/440 this rig covers two of the most commonly used bands. It does no include the 50 MHZ band, which was included on the VX-7R. BUT, included in this rig instead of 50 MHZ is a BUILT IN GPS receiver and a BUILT IN APRS modem. These two features alone are what helped me decide to purchase this radio over the ICOM IC-92AD with D-Star, or the TH-72 Kenwood. The IC-92AD was way too overpriced with GPS, and I wasn't that impressed by the D-Star. The Kenwood was built more sturdy, but was also priced higher than the VX-8GR. I found that when using the GPS with APRS even with the rubber duck antenna it was EASY to acquire the satellites and work the digipeaters in my area. With only 5w and a good beam working the ISS should be no problem. I am pleased with my purchase and quite impressed with the features. And contrary to the bad reviews, I found that the audio was more than adequate on volume setting 22. I turned the mic gain tom8 and it sounds great. Only downside I found was the 1400mah battery only lasted about 5 hours , so I would recommend the 1800mah battery upgrade for heavy use on high power. Overall I am giving this rig an overall rating of 5 because of its price range and features.

Ok so I have been on the fence about this radio for awhile. I keep looking at the Kenwood TH-D72, Yaesu VX-8D as well as the VX-8G.

I do a good bit with TNCs & GPS made specifically for high powered rocketry and I've been at the candy store several times looking at each of the options along with reading all of their reviews here on eham.net as well as on their respective yahoo groups.

Initially I wanted the Kenwood TH-D72 ever since they announced it, however once I got it in my hands, I just did't like the feel of the TH-D72 and there are some features like SkyCommand II, I just will not ever use... so it was just not worth the price to me. Don't get me wrong, it's a fine radio, just not for me at the price point I want to be at.

Then Yaesu announced VX-8D and I thought the VX-8D was going to be the one... but by the time I added the cost of the GPS antenna, or bolted on the GPS-Mic, the cost was way above what I wanted pay not to mention, it looks like Rube Goldberg designed it. To me, it's just not a neat & clean package. Expensive & cluttered.

Then I kept and eye on the VX-8G, liked the packaged format of the radio, which is nice & clean. However before I could pick one up, I saw the announcement of the FT-1D... so there I set for the past year in limbo, and the more info Yaesu released, I realized that the FT-1D wasn't going to be my APRS solution.

Then Yaesu announced their fall rebates and I saw the $50.00 rebate on the 8G, that pushed me over the fence. So at $329.00 thats was enough to get me to bite.

I've had the radio a couple of weeks now and have enjoyed it immensely. APRS is working nicely, haven't encountered any of the issues that some folks have mentioned here.

Programming was a snap, I found the menu system, while lengthy, easily workable. Buttons are a little small, and still find my self wanting to drop below the 8 button for the 0 zero, instead of over to the right side.

I find the feel of the radio in my hand nice & light weight.

I typically set the APRS to a 5 min beacon when just around the area. Smart beacon in the vehicle.

From my location, I can work all of the local repeaters easily. Reception is good. I do have to remember the RX & TX Save feature... since I typically run the radio in L1 Power setting (.01 W)

Inside of the house with 2 floors above me, I typically have 6 or 7 satellites shown.

I find the GPS extremely accurate, as youd expect. GPS acquisition is impressively fast. Entering APRS messages is as easy as can be expected without a full keyboard.

Battery life with the standard 1100 mAh has been respectable 7hrs or so. It drops to about 6hrs if APRS VFOb is at 5Ws @ 5min interval

For the features bang for the buck, especially @ the rebated price of $329.00, I think this radio is rather hard to beat and have no regrets to date.

To me, it would be perfect if it had internal bluetooth 3 or 4 capability and USB interface. I knew that before purchasing, so I would have to say it rates 5 for what it suppose to do. As I said before incredible bang for the buck.